1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pick-up apparatus provided with a function of shooting and reproducing a moving image, a method of controlling the image pick-up apparatus, and a computer readable recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional digital cameras are known, which are capable of shooting one scene at a predetermined shooting frame rate (for example, 30 fps. and/or 60 fps.) to produce plural continuous image frames, and switching the plural image frames at a predetermined reproducing frame rate, hereby reproducing a moving image.
In recent, a digital camera has been developed, which is capable of shooting a moving image at a frame rate (for example, 240 fps.) higher than a frame rate employed in the conventional digital cameras. When image data produced with the digital camera is reproduced in slow motion, an ultra slow motion image reproduction can be realized with a temporal resolution higher than in the conventional digital cameras.
A reproducing apparatus is also known, which employs a moving image compressing technique that can change the number of pictures composing GOP (Group of Picture) in response to a slow motion reproducing speed (For example, refer to Japanese Patent 2003-209801 A).
Meanwhile, it is well known that the higher frame rate of shooting a moving image, the shorter exposure time per frame. Shooting at a high speed shooting frame rate has a disadvantage that needs a sensitizing process, which causes noises in image data. This disadvantage cannot be solved by the above moving image compressing technique which changes the number of pictures of GOP depending on the reproducing speed as disclosed in the above patent document.
For example, even if a digital camera is used, in which a shooting frame rate can be selected by a user for shooting a moving image, the user who wants to take a clear image with less noises would select a normal shooting frame rate rather than a high shooting frame rate, since visible noises are easily involved in image data that is produced at a high shooting frame rate. It may be considered to add and combine plural image frames to eliminate noise components from image data, but the user who wants to take a clear image would like to review a scene at a crucial moment in an ultra slow motion with a high temporal resolution.